


Cursed Blades

by Katrina



Series: 31 Days [8]
Category: One Piece
Genre: 18-4-09, 5-1-19, Because I can, Community: 31_days, Community: dailyprompt, Fanart inspiration, Gen, Kikoku!Cora, You are a phantom in that far-off city where daylight climbs cathedral walls, a nice cup of tea and a sit down
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-05 01:38:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17315636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katrina/pseuds/Katrina
Summary: Sometimes dreams aren't only dreams. Law finds himself talking to a Cora-san who is different than he recalls.





	Cursed Blades

**Author's Note:**

> For 31_days on Dreamwidth  
> 5-1-19: You are a phantom in that far-off city where daylight climbs cathedral walls  
> and  
> For dailyprompt on Dreamwidth  
> 18-4-09  
> a nice cup of tea and a sit down

“You need to get more sleep.”

Opening his eyes, Law looked up at a painted smile that covered a real one. He knew this had to be a dream, because Cora-san was looming over him, the smell of tea in the air. 

Though this dream was different than the ones that Law normally had of Cora-san. Instead of a familiar shirt covered with hearts, or the hideous sweater that the man had picked up on their trip. 

Instead, the familiar dark feathers were draped over a black shirt with a pattern of white crosses on it. The design was familiar, though Law couldn’t figure out what. At least, he couldn’t figure it out at first. He was sure that he would eventually. 

There was a red cord wrapped around Cora-san’s upper arm, the ends dangling in a way that teased Law’s mind. It looked out of place, but also very familiar. The last major change was the color of the cap. It was as dark as the shirt, though it had no patterns on it. 

“Cora-san?” Law’s tone was confused, even as he was sitting upright. Didn’t have dreams of the blond very often anymore. Not as much as he used to. With Bepo and Shachi and Penguin now to help distract him.... Well, his waking life was fuller, more things happening to distract him. Law didn’t dream as often now that so much of his day was taken up by living. 

The man smiled. “In a way,” he said, tone fond as he looked at Law. Offering his hand, Cora-san grinned. “Come on. Tea is ready. Let’s drink, and I can explain.”

Looking around, Law was amazed to see there -was- a tea set nearby, steam drifting gently from a pot of hot water. He took the hand, hauling himself up, then followed the man. Cora-san was already moving towards the set.

Law half expected the man to tumble and end up destroying everything on the table, but that didn’t happen. To be fair, Cora-san was clumsy, but he had also played it up a lot when he was spying. If he was as bad as he was on his worst day as Corazon, the man would have never become a Marine. 

Not wanting to think about that detail, the teen moved to sit across from Cora-san. The tea was served easily, and Law found he didn’t recognize the taste. It was more bitter than he expected, and Cora-san chuckled at his face. 

“Should have warned you. That’s a favored brew from when I was a child. Apparently, it’s not good taste for most people. Sorry.”

The smell of the tea shifted, becoming a more familiar scent. This time, when Law tasted it, the tea was the stuff they used to have for breakfast. It helped with Law’s aches when he was feeling his worst.

Definitely a dream. 

Law was content to sit with Cora-san and drink tea. It was one of those stupid little ideas that had talked about. To just try teas as they had gone around the world. Tea was more Cora-san’s thing, but it wasn’t the tea part that had appealed to Law. It was the time to spend with Cora-san as they had been free to do what they wanted. 

“You got your hands on a cursed blade,” Cora-san said finally, breaking the quiet. “A blade named for lost spirits.” 

He said it all in a calm voice, and Law paused, cup halfway to his mouth as he looked at the blond. The changes in clothing suddenly clicked in his head, and Law felt irritated at himself for not making the connection earlier. It was stupid that he hadn't recognized a very distinct pattern. 

“Kikoku,” he murmured, sipping from the cup finally. “She’s supposed to be cursed, but....”

“Not supposed to be. Is.”

Cora-san’s voice was matter of fact. “She has a hold of me now. Not that I mind, other than I am not sure that she’ll ever let go.”

Staring at the other man, Law wasn’t sure how to take this. Ghosts weren’t real, but this was such a very different. Still, he was impressed with his own imagination. Law never would have thought he was this creative outside of surgery. 

Cora-san reached over and flicked Law’s nose. 

Hissing, Law jerked back, hand coming up to rub at that stinging spot. He looked at Cora-san with startled eyes. That had hurt. Never hurt in his dreams before. That was for when he woke up. 

“I’m not a dream. I’m not a delusion. And I not wishful thinking.” A roll of broad shoulders as Cora-san seemed to get comfortable. “I’m dead. We both know it. But I wouldn’t move on.”

A pause as he sipped his tea. It looked like he was taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “I swore I’d do my best to look after you. And I want to stop my brother. Dying did not change either of those goals. Just made them harder to work on.”

He gave Law a smile, eyes bright as he beamed at the teen across the table. “It’ll be easier now that you can hear me. I’ve been trying to talk to you for a while.” He sipped at his tea again. 

“So, Law. Tell me. What do you have planned?”

Law wasn’t sure this was a dream or not. But....

“I plan on taking out Doflamingo,” he said shortly. Brown eyes studied him, and Law waited until Cora-san nodded. 

“All right. Tell me what you have so far.”

**Author's Note:**

> The two images that inspired this. Also, if anyone knows the artist(Sorane) main site, I found these on a few different fan sites with no credit.
> 
> [One](https://imgur.com/oz4LOFm), [Two](https://imgur.com/42aVxB4), and [Three](https://imgur.com/qERZepc)


End file.
